So Much for Normal
by AnonymousNerd
Summary: After the long weekend with the Cullens, Bella thought life would return to normal. Mother Nature-and Charlie-had other ideas. Sequel to "The Long Weekend."
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, especially anything related to _The Twilight Saga_ or any of the board games mentioned in this chapter.

A/N: Here it is, the sequel to "The Long Weekend." You may want to read the original story first, or some of the references to earlier events, the time frame and my interpretation of certain things may not make too much sense. This chapter is entirely in Bella's perspective.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Night Unlike Any Other

I sat in my living room listening to my father, my best friend and my fiancé as they talked about our respective weekends. It was still slightly alarming to me, seeing how completely unsuspicious my father could be. Part of me thinks he tries to see the best in everyone—the whole innocent until proven guilty bit. The more logical side of me argues that Charlie has a keen ability to see what he wants to see, repressing what is unpleasant, adopting a "need to know only" approach. Maybe he just chooses his battles. Whatever the case, it was certainly working to my advantage as he did not make a big deal about my spending the weekend with my fiancé and his family.

Edward was the only person in question with whom Charlie had a problem. He still had not completely forgiven Edward for the Phoenix fiasco this past spring or for the plan to steal me, his only daughter, away so soon after our high school graduation, as was our current arrangement. Because of this, Charlie had developed the habit of scowling or glaring at Edward any time we made any physical contact with each other in his presence. Otherwise, he was mostly cordial.

I tried to draw my attention to the conversation, but they had started talking about baseball, of all things. Alice, bless her, tried valiantly to pull me into their conversation, to no avail. She switched topics abruptly then, with the one topic guaranteed to shut down all talk of sports—fashion. Of course I had nothing to contribute to this discussion either, but it was funny to watch Alice's tiny nose wrinkle in disgust as I announced that I would be perfectly happy in jeans for the rest of my life.

"Seriously, Bella? What about when we go dancing? You would spend the rest of your existence in such a, a," she paused as she contemplated the appropriate word to showcase her disdain for my fashion sense. "You'd be happy in _that_ every day?" she asked as she waved her finger at me to indicate my clothes.

I looked down at my thermal shirt, zip up sweater and my favorite broken-in jeans. "Absolutely. This is perfectly comf--"

She cut me off, shouting, "DON'T SAY IT! DON'T SAY IT!"

Edward looked amused, most likely from listening to the rest of her mental tirade toward me and my clothes. Charlie flinched as she shouted.

Not discouraged by her, I finished my sentence. "Comfortable. You can move around and do anything."

"You wound me, Bella." She closed her eyes dramatically then placed her hands over her heart.

Edward, Charlie and I could not resist laughing, to which Alice responded with a heavy sigh.

"You people are hopeless."

Edward, ever the gentleman, stood up from the couch. "Our chances of getting home safely may soon be hopeless as well if we don't leave soon, Alice." I looked out the window to notice the darkening sky outside for the first time as the sun sank lower toward the horizon.

Alice and Charlie stood as well, as she said, "Yes, Esme will kill us if we don't get home soon. She worries so much." Alice glanced over at me from her place beside Charlie and winked. I had to cover my snickering with a cough, then stood and joined them as we began walking toward the door.

Edward placed one hand on the knob and opened the door, looking outside. "We'll have to hurry before the roads freeze any more than the driveway, from the looks of it." He turned to me and kissed me gently on the forehead. "See you soon, my love," he whispered in my ear.

I swear, that man doesn't know what he does to me. Heat flooded my face, and my stomach leapt. My breath hitched in my throat—"my love"—that's new. I smiled back at him, answering, "You'd better."

Charlie looked out the front door, around Edward and me, his eyes widening. "Like it or not, you two aren't going anywhere."

"What?!?" Alice, Edward and I chorused in unison.

I glanced at Alice whose unfocused eyes and slightly open mouth gave her away. I could only guess what she was seeing.

Charlie raised his eyebrows at us, as if we were the crazy ones. "I can't let you two drive with it being that icy out there—look at the road! The roads to your house will be even worse since they're shaded." Indeed, the road in front of our house was shiny and glistening with ice, where the snow had partially melted during the day and refrozen. It looked like a sheet of glass.

Edward shook his head, "We'll be fine, Charlie, really."

My father however, was insistent. "You're staying here. I'm the Chief of Police and I don't want to be responsible for letting you drive in that, then be the one to see you splattered on the road. You aren't going out in that. Shut the door, Bells."

I stood with my mouth agape; he was serious. Recovering myself, I reached behind Edward to swing the door closed. Well this is going to be interesting, I thought. I wonder if Charlie thought ahead to consider sleeping arrangements.

"Looks like you and I are sleeping in the living room tonight, Edward." Charlie was apparently a mind reader too.

"Yes, sir." My Edward, the stoic.

Alice was turning her head from side to side quickly, watching all of us. It looked as if she was trying to determine what we were going to do next, which, knowing her, was probably exactly what she was doing. Her eyes became frantic as she turned to me.

"Just what am I supposed to do, Bella?" she hissed under her breath.

I shrugged. "I guess you'll be upstairs with me, I whispered back.

"Not that. I. Don't. Have. Any. Clothes." She drew out each word with emphasis.

Charlie moved forward so that he was standing between Alice and Edward and clapped them both on their shoulders. "I'm pretty sure Bella's clothes will fit you, Alice, even if they are a bit long. You can borrow some clothes too, Edward." I thanked heaven for small miracles that Charlie couldn't see the identical expressions of horror on their faces. This was definitely going to be interesting.

****

A few hours later, we were sitting in the living room talking while Charlie was upstairs. Alice was still complaining about my lack of "appropriate attire" which was now even more personally offensive to her as she was wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants of mine. She would not sit still, constantly fidgeting and twisting about.

"I can't believe this! It's unconscionable! I've never worn sweats in my life! This isn't even a natural fiber, Bella. Remind me to introduce you to natural fibers."

I couldn't resist. "It's cotton, Alice."

"It's a cotton _blend_," she snapped.

Edward, who had remained silent throughout this exchange, tapped his long fingers together. He looked equally uncomfortable in one of Charlie's t-shirts and flannel sleep pants. "So how are we going to pass the night, exactly?"

"Oh, I'm sure we can find something to do," Alice began, a twinkle in her eye. Apparently Edward's distraction had done the trick, driving away her irritation.

Just then, Charlie joined us in the living room, clearly ready to crash for the night, and not very pleased to find three wide awake teenagers. He stood in the doorway, two pillows and a stack of blankets in his hands. "Aren't you the least bit tired?"

"Not really, Dad. I'm pretty keyed up actually." This was not a lie in the least—I was nervous beyond words about how this would turn out.

He looked at Alice and Edward who both nodded. It was Alice who spoke up.

"We should turn this into a slumber party! C'mon, Charlie, can we?" She turned out her pouting expression, guaranteed to persuade anyone.

Charlie shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then adjusted the pile of blankets he held. "But what about…" he nodded at Edward and me.

I couldn't believe he was considering this.

"You don't have to worry about them, I'll be here the whole time, and seriously, would they do anything with me in the room? Ew, that's just wrong." She was channeling her inner teenager perfectly.

He seemed convinced, or at least close to it. He put the pile of blankets and pillows on an empty couch cushion and pointed a finger at Edward. "You aren't married yet, Edward." He turned to Alice as he added, "I'm counting on you, Alice, and you too, Bells." His head whipped toward me. "I'm trusting you on this."

I nodded. "Absolutely, Dad. Nothing will happen." Just like every other night, I silently added. My extremely moral vampire was one guy my dad didn't have to worry about.

"You have my word sir, just like Bella said, nothing will happen." Edward's voice was so full of sincerity, it was impossible to doubt him.

"Good. Goodnight, Bells."

"Night, Dad." I looked up at him from my seat on the couch and smiled.

He turned to Edward and Alice then, only a hint of doubt left on his face. "See you in the morning, you two. There are some more blankets and stuff in the closet."

"Goodnight, Charlie," they returned.

He left the room, shaking his head slightly, and went upstairs.

Edward crossed the room to sit next to me on the couch. "Well this is unexpected," he said, turning to Alice.

"Hey, don't look at me, I didn't know about this until he looked out the front door, or this," she said, touching my sweatshirt with two fingers, "until Charlie mentioned it."

Edward threw his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. "I'm not complaining about being invited to stay, I was just making a comment." He gave my shoulder a squeeze and pulled me closer to him. I snuggled closer, pulling my feet up onto the couch. "Forgive her, she's a bit touchy," he whispered to me.

"I'm complaining," Alice whined. "No offense, Bella, you know I love you, but I don't want to stay for an undetermined amount of time without Jasper. It doesn't pay to be the chaperoning adult, you know."

I threw a pillow at her.

"Hey! Somebody has to keep an eye on you two snuggle bunnies." She grinned impishly. "I'm helping you out more than you know. Charlie was planning on staying awake all night, cleaning his gun and everything."

I felt a surge of affection for my father at his protectiveness, as Edward chuckled.

"So what _are _we going to do?" I asked, as the pillow came back at me, smacking me in the chest.

****

We ended up playing board games, of all things, and more than once during our game of Scrabble, I heard the stairs creaking as Charlie checked on us. I made a killing during the game by using compound words whenever possible. Edward rolled his eyes as I got a triple word score by adding "stand" to his word "under."

It was after midnight when I heard the stairs creak for the last time and Charlie begin to snore heavily about ten minutes later. Our game night was still going strong as we switched gears to play Scattergories, then Trivial Pursuit.

By two a.m. my eyelids felt like they were weighted with lead. We had pushed the coffee table out from its usual position in front of the couch and moved it beside the recliner so that the majority of the floor space was open. The sleeping bags we had brought from the closet upstairs were scattered on the floor as we tried out various configurations to see which would be the most comfortable and the least objectionable.

When all was said and done, I was curled up in a down-filled sleeping bag in my favorite place—safely encircled in Edward's strong arms. I lay on my side, my head resting on my pillow, one of Edward's arms draped over me, holding me close, his other hand softly brushing my hair away from my face.

From behind me I heard Alice softly muttering something about skis.

"What?" I rasped groggily.

"Don't worry about it," Edward answered. "Sweet dreams, my love." He kissed my forehead, then the soft spot of my neck, just below my ear.

So very sweet, indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, especially anything related to _The Twilight Saga_.

A/N: Here it is, the sequel to "The Long Weekend." You may want to read the original story first, or some of the references to earlier events, the time frame and my interpretation of certain things may not make too much sense. This chapter is entirely in Bella's perspective.

A/N 2: Okay, so it's spring, almost summer now, and I'm writing a story that I meant to finish this winter, as it's a snow/winter-themed story. Bad, bad author.

Chapter 2: The Unexpected

When I woke up the next morning, I was immediately aware of how warm I was. I rolled over onto my stomach and propped myself up on my elbows. Edward lay next to me, his back facing me and Alice was stretched out at his feet, her head resting on his legs. I could hear Charlie banging around in the kitchen, which must have prompted the change in sleeping positions. I slumped back down on the floor and buried my face in my pillow. I was so not ready to get up yet. The tell-tale floorboard at the living room door creaked. I opened one eye to see Charlie's head poking in the room.

"You guys awake?"

"No," I stage whispered. I closed my eye and drew the sleeping bag over my head.

Beside me, Edward and Alice remained perfectly still, their breathing slow and even. To anyone else, it would seem like they were soundly asleep.

"C'mon, I made breakfast."

My stomach rumbled in response, the traitor. "But it's cold out there," I whined, getting up anyway. I shivered in response to the change in temperature.

"Should we wake them up?" Charlie asked, inclining his head toward Alice and Edward.

I laughed inwardly at how awkward that breakfast would be. "Nah," I said, "let them sleep. I'll make more breakfast when they get up."

Charlie and I went to the kitchen, the heavenly aroma of pancakes and sickeningly sweet syrup hanging in the air.

The four of us sat around the breakfast table, trying to think of something to occupy us for the day. Without the freedom of not acting human, this was much more difficult than it had been this weekend. After kicking around several ideas, Charlie decided to shovel the rest of the driveway and sidewalk.

As he was preparing to go out into the frozen tundra, he called to us, "You know, I think I still have our skis from the honeymoon. You guys can dig those out of the basement if you like." With that, he went outside, pulling the door shut behind him.

Charlie skis? I thought to myself. Well, that's certainly unexpected. I never in a million years would have thought my father would be one to ski, let alone that my sun-loving mother would agree to going skiing on their honeymoon.

"We could do skis," Alice began. "All we have to do is level out part of the backyard, build up some hills and…" she trailed off as she switched to her mental voice, speaking only to Edward now.

Edward smiled as he looked at me. "Like this?" he asked her.

I looked back and forth between them, my head twisting from side to side like I was watching a tennis match. Their silent conversations never ceased to amaze me. Edward was apparently envisioning their plan for how the backyard should look and what we would do while Alice looked ahead to see if that was what she wanted to happen.

"Too elaborate. Charlie would never believe the three of us could build that." Alice shook her head.

As they returned to their silent conversation, I got up to wash the breakfast dishes, rolling my eyes at the occasional "pshaw" or other derisive sounds that escaped from one of the slightly annoyed vampires behind me. The warm soapy water sloshed around in the sink as I washed the plates from breakfast, imagining what it would be like to be pushed around the backyard on skis. I could practically feel the cold air stinging my cheeks and hear the swooshing sounds of the skis sliding over the undisturbed snow.

"Perfect!" Alice and Edward exclaimed in unison.

Shocked by the sudden verbal outburst, I dropped the plate I'd been scrubbing back into the sink, splashing myself with dishwater. I looked down at my soaking wet pajama shirt, horrified to observe that it was quickly developing some interesting see-through spots. Lovely. I let out an exasperated sigh and looked up at the ceiling as if the answer to my luck might be written there for me to see.

"What could possibly be perfect—No, wait, tell me after I change clothes," I corrected myself as I shivered under the wet shirt. "I'll be right back."

As I turned from the sink to go upstairs, both Alice and Edward looked at me curiously, no doubt wondering why I was suddenly concerned with my clothes. They seemed to register the wet spots at the same time. Alice's expression changed from shock to one of amused understanding. I could have sworn I heard her snickering laugh. Edward's eyes widened to the point where I wondered if they could fall out of his head before he ducked his head to stare at the table as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Right, I thought. Clothes. Now.

A few minutes later, I was coming downstairs again, two piles of clothes in my arms. Charlie had apparently pulled some extra clothes from his closet for Edward to wear and I had done the same for Alice, choosing what I thought would be the least offensive to her.

Before my foot hit the bottom stair, I heard her.

"You owe me so big, Bella," she threatened.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Whatever."

Edward simply met me at the bottom of the stairs, holding out his long hands, shaking his head. I dropped the jeans and plaid flannel shirt into his hands as he brushed past me to change upstairs.

Not even a complaint. I love that man. I smiled to myself as I continued to the kitchen, my grin becoming uncontrollably goofy.

Alice, like Edward, shook her head at me, but could not resist protesting the loaner outfit, rather loudly. I didn't catch all of it, but I heard her muttering something about destroying evidence and secondhand but not vintage.

Later that afternoon, the three of us were in the backyard, Alice and I with skis strapped to our feet and Edward standing behind us. We were squatting down as much as possible, almost to a sitting position.

"Who's first?" Edward asked.

"Alice!" I blurted without hesitation. There was no way I was going to try this, sight unseen.

She clapped her hands then threw her arms out to either side, holding them parallel to the ground. "C'mon Edward, I want to fly!"

I shook my head. What I wouldn't give to already be as indestructible as them so that I could give in to my more reckless tendencies. I could hold out until after the wedding, sure, but it wouldn't be easy.

Edward laughed, "Not our kind of fast…but I can make do with what we have." At that, he placed his hands on Alice's back and took off at a speed that would break any track star's heart.

The two of them raced around the backyard and over the hills at the back of our property. I watched carefully, trying to judge where I would be most likely to fall over or otherwise injure myself. It was impossible though, not to smile as I listened to the two of them laughing wildly.

Edward gave her a final strong push as they came to the hill nearest to me. As Alice sped down the hill she stood up slowly, then whizzed by me on her skis, headed right for the front yard, just as Charlie came around the side of the house.

He never saw her coming. Her outspread arms expertly caught hold of his shoulders—she couldn't change her course direction fast enough as a human—and the two of them went down.

I felt my jaw drop. Charlie and Alice were tangled in a mess of skis and arms as they both tried to stand at the same time. There was no way he could not notice how different that impact must have felt compared to how it felt to collide with another human. The secret was going to be out.

Then I heard it, something I never would have expected in a million years. My father was giggling. I expected it from Alice, whose peals of wind chime-like laughter were ringing out clearly, but Dad? No, Dad doesn't _giggle_, I thought. But he was.

I continued to watch them as I began to awkwardly clomp over to them. Every time they tried to stand, they fell again, which only made them laugh harder. Snow had gotten in their hair, was soaking their clothes, but it did not seem to faze them. Tears were rolling down Charlie's face from laughing. Edward had caught up to me by now and the two of us finally reached them. I noticed Edward reaching toward his pocket surreptitiously and a gleam caught the corner of my eye.

I cocked one eyebrow as I turned to look at him. He winked as he aimed a small camera at my dad and Alice and took a picture of them.

"Hey!" they both shouted in mock anger.

Alice then snaked a ski-clad foot out and hooked the long board behind Edward's leg, pulling him to the ground, too. She yanked the camera from his hands and tossed it to me. I caught it by the wrist strap and snapped a couple of pictures of the three of them in a heap, covered in snow.

"You have to be in these pictures too, kid," Charlie called. He had raised himself to a sitting position and was sliding backward in the snow to get free from the two "clumsy" vampires, before standing up.

"Oh no. No, no no. I am _not_ going down." I began inching backward, as quickly as I could, still wearing skis.

Alice and Edward had gotten up as well, and the three of them advanced on me, waving their fingers in the classic "I'm going to get you" way.

Edward reached me first. I covered my eyes, not wanting to see what I was in for. He plucked the camera from my hands, then spun me around. My hands were gently pulled from my face as he looked at me too innocently.

"I was only going to give you your turn, Bella. Sit down."

I measured his words against his expression and he smiled my favorite crooked smile. That darn vampire was dazzling me. And it was working. I sat.

We were off, tearing across the backyard at a full sprint. I hate to think how fast we'd be going if he didn't have to act human for Charlie, because I already felt like I was flying. Just like sledding a couple of days ago though, the speed was exhilarating. I didn't want it to stop, even though my hat had blown off and my pants were covered in snow, which was now falling into my boots. The last hill was coming up.

"Here you go, love. Throw one ski…to slow down," he said, part of his words drowned out by something Alice was shouting as he was giving me the final push.

"Move it how?" I tried to ask, but my question was cut short by my own squealing. The wind rushed by and like Alice, I spread my arms out wide.

Luckily he didn't push me as hard as he did for his sister and I felt myself slowing down as I got closer to Charlie and Alice who snapped a few pictures before catching me and guiding me to a stop.

I stood, brushing myself off, just as Edward joined us, standing next to Alice. Charlie motioned for the three of us to move closer. Edward put an arm around each of us as Charlie took a group picture, all of us with big doofy grins.

"That's going to do it for me, guys. I'm heading inside," Charlie said. "You all have fun." He turned and headed back for the house.

"So, do you want a turn?" Alice asked, looking curiously at Edward. She looked confused.

"No…not a turn…" He moved so quickly that he looked like a blur. In less than a second he had gathered a handful of snow, formed it, and lobbed the ball at his sister.

Her return fire was swift. I managed to sneak in a couple of pictures as they continued their impromptu snowball fight. I glanced at the small screen to see the pictures.

A huge snowball smacked me square in the forehead, falling into my eyes and sliding down my nose. With a plop, more snow fell onto my jacket as the snowball continued to melt and slide down my face. I closed my eyes and ground my teeth together. I could not even speak, yet I felt my face reddening. I flicked the rest of the snow off my face.

I opened my eyes.

Alice had her hands over her mouth. I couldn't tell if she was shocked or trying not to laugh.

Edward raised his hands in surrender, his eyes wide with guilt. Seeing my expression, he took a step backward, then another. He stopped. He stuck out his bottom lip, making it quiver a little bit, in childlike guilt-innocence. He looked like an angel who'd just been told that puppies don't go to heaven.

"I love you, Bella," he said in a saccharine voice.

That did it. That pushed me over the edge. I launched myself at him and in his shock, I tackled him to the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing, especially anything related to Twister or _The Twilight Saga_.

A/N: Here it is, the sequel to "The Long Weekend." You may want to read the original story first, or some of the references to earlier events, the time frame and my interpretation of certain things may not make too much sense. This chapter is entirely in Bella's perspective.

A/N 2: Okay, so it's summer now, and I'm writing a story that I meant to finish this winter, as it's a snow/winter-themed story. Bad, bad author. I give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stayed with this story, read it, reviewed it, favorited or alerted this story. You all are too kind, and encourage me to continue writing.

Chapter 3: Thawing

I got my revenge by burying him in the snow, with Alice's help. It didn't take too long for her to realize my intent after I dumped a couple armfuls of snow on his head. Of course, they both thought it was pretty humorous and had the nerve to laugh. I scowled as I continued to bury Edward under a few inches of ice cold revenge.

"Oh Bella, we're not laughing at you, per se," Alice consoled through her laughter.

I raised my gloved hand, threatening her with a fistful of snow. "Then what, pray tell, are you two laughing at now?"

She looked at me appraisingly as she answered, "Well, you are quite the spit fire, Bella. This little episode," she gestured with her hands at our combined efforts as I felt Edward silently laughing, my hand on his snow covered chest. "This little episode just proves what I've been telling Edward since he met you."

"What's that?"

"He's not going to be able to get away with anything for the rest of your combined existence. You know him too well."

I raised my eyebrows, intrigued. It was difficult, but I managed not to laugh as I leaned forward and brushed the snow off Edward's face. "What exactly have you been trying to or thinking about getting away with lately?"

He had the good sense to chuckle nervously. "Um…"

How long should I make him sweat? I waggled my eyebrows and drummed my fingers against his chest impatiently. "I'm waiting." This really was too much fun. I may not be able to lie or engage in most activities without revealing my clumsy tendencies, but there was one thing I knew I was really good at—making my Edward squirm.

"Um, nothing lately, love." At my skeptical expression, he rushed on. "Honestly. It's been a good long while since I tried, you know, since I already have a Christmas gift for you."

I rolled my eyes but decided to let it go. "I've got my eyes on you, just remember that."

He sat up quickly, showering me with snow, his eyes smoldering. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Sufficiently dazzled, my annoyance was forgotten. My subconscious registered the sound of Alice getting up and moving off toward the house as Edward pulled me into his arms and we fell back into the snow.

Edward and I came inside a bit later, wet with melted snow and laughing loudly. My cheeks were flushed and my lips were swollen, yet I was deliriously happy. We stood on the rug, just inside the door, dripping all over the entryway.

I peeled off my gloves and hat and was unzipping my coat when Edward bent down to whisper in my ear, "Allow me, Miss Swan," as he helped me out of my coat. I turned to look at him, seeing that he had already taken off his own coat and gloves.

"I thank you for your kindness, Mr. Cullen." I managed to giggle only a little this time, enjoying our newfound game of manners.

He took my hand and placed it on his arm as he began leading me to the living room. "I remain, as always, your humble servant, my love."

"You two are disgusting!" Alice exclaimed as soon as we came to the doorway. "I mean, really. I know that that's how you were raised, Edward, but it's a bit much, don't you think?"

I didn't hear Charlie behind me until he spoke. "Actually, Alice, for once I'm going to disagree with you. I'm glad that Edward respects my Bella and treats her like a lady…though they are rather disgusting sometimes, too." He grinned at us both before passing Edward and I to go into the living room.

"Ha ha, Dad." I was rather surprised though, at Charlie's reaction. He usually does not tease us, let alone openly approve of Edward and I or our engagement.

I took a more concentrated inventory of the living room as Charlie took his seat in the recliner. Alice had apparently been alone in here for the better part of the afternoon. The television had been tuned to the soap opera channel and was playing quietly in the corner. Our sleeping bags, pillows and blankets were folded and piled neatly beside the couch, leaving the floor space open, only now it was covered by a white plastic mat with red, green, yellow and blue dots.

Oh no. No, no no.

"Shoes off, people! I've been left to my own devices this afternoon, and I say we play Twister." I opened my mouth to protest. "No arguments."

I silently cursed.

"Because we haven't fallen and tangled ourselves enough today?"

"Shut up, Edward. Because I say so."

I glanced at Charlie, silently pleading for help.

"I'll spin for you guys," he volunteered. Thanks for the help, Dad.

Which is how, 10 minutes later, I was contorted into a human pretzel with my left hand and right foot on green, my left foot on red and my right hand on blue, with both Alice and Edward hovering above me, our limbs hopelessly tangled.

"Left foot…yellow," Charlie called. He started snickering as we tried to shift and shimmy toward a yellow dot. I saw him pull the camera out of his shirt pocket and snap a picture. "The looks on your faces are priceless. You'll want to show this to your grandkids someday, trust me."

I choked. Grandkids? My arms started to shake with the strain and I began to fall.

"Right hand red."

I managed to move my hand and stabilize myself once again. "Whoever invented this game should be kicked in the shins," I muttered.

"Left hand blue."

All three of us picked up our hands at the same time and crashed to the floor like a ton of bricks. Somehow, during our short fall, Edward had managed to shift under me so that he was on the bottom instead of me, taking the worst of the fall.

Click, click, click. That dumb camera.

I couldn't help it though—all four of us were laughing like fools as two vampires and a clumsy human lay sprawled across the Twister mat.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of ear-splitting cracking outside the living room window, along with a persistent splat as water from the icicles on the gutters dropped heavily into the snow. The thawing had begun.

I got up to look out the window just in time to see a piece of ice that had been a sheath around the limb of an oak tree fall to the ground. All around the yard the cracking sound continued as more of the ice broke away. Craning my neck, I could even see that part of the street was becoming wet rather than icy. Life would go on.

A few hours later, Alice and Edward were gathering their things to leave. She was bouncing on her toes at the prospect of being with Jasper again, while Edward looked more resigned.

Charlie and I stood by the stairs as they came over to say goodbye. In typical Alice fashion, she bounded over and hugged each of us, thanking us profusely for everything before going out to the car. Edward meanwhile, was more subdued, with a quick kiss on the forehead and a whispered "See you later" for me and shaking Charlie's hand as he thanked him, before he too, left, closing the door quietly.

Charlie reached over to hug me with one arm. "You picked well, Bells."

I looked up at him to see him smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. This thaw was a greater one.

Fin.


End file.
